Conference Agenda

This reflection analyses the evolution or transition of service-learning (SL) within CIVIS, a European Civic University Alliance, moving from a collection of isolated initiatives to a coordinated institutional commitment. In its initial phase, SL was primarily linked to "Open Labs" and perceived as a method for local engagement. However, the experience demonstrated that to truly anchor a civic engagement and a democratic culture at our universities, which is necessary according to the Council of Europe (2023), SL must be prioritized and integrated transversally into the curriculum.

A central strategy was the creation of a dedicated SL Expert Group (EG). This informal working group allowed for the provision of systemic support and advice to the Alliance's governance bodies. This group has acted as a catalyst by developing the Recommendations for the promotion of SL in the CIVIS Alliance, a foundational document approved by the governing body that establishes common principles, roles, and institutional responsibilities for all member universities. providing a common policy framework for all member universities, explicitly linking SL to the promotion of social justice, critical thinking, and sustainable development.

Reflecting on the barriers to institutionalization, the Alliance identified the lack of recognition for faculty as a major hurdle. To overcome this, the Recommendations document explicitly encourages institutions to recognize SL participation in teacher evaluations and to explore incentives such us reduced teaching assignments. Furthermore, the EG has developed practical resources, including a SL Guides, several BIPs in which the students participate in international and hybrid SL projects, and a Staff Training Week with an accompanying Moodle course. These initiatives aim to lower entry barriers for staff and provide the systemic support that faculty often lack.

To ensure sustainability towards 2030, the Alliance is shifting from "awards-based" recognition model towards structural integration. Current efforts focus on a comprehensive mapping of existing projects to identify gaps and opportunities for transnational collaboration. The strategic vision includes the creation of a CIVIS Micro-Credential in SL to certify community partner engagement, an open badge system to recognize students´ earned competences, and the establishment of SL offices in each partner university to provide permanent logistical and pedagogical support.

In conclusion, the CIVIS experience shows that European university alliances facilitate institutionalisation by enabling diverse universities to share expertise, harmonize quality standards, and pool resources for staff training. This collective approach transforms SL from an innovative pedagogy into a core methodological pillar of universities’ civic responsibility.

This abstract reflects on the experience of the Arqus Innovation Fund project “Driving Social Innovation with AI-Powered Service Learning”, developed collaboratively by University of Minho, University of Granada, University of Padua, University of Lyon I, and University of Vilnius within the Arqus European University Alliance.

The project emerged from a shared recognition that although Service-Learning has demonstrated strong potential to foster civic engagement, democratic participation, and social responsibility, its implementation across European higher education institutions often remains fragmented, dependent on individual faculty initiatives, and weakly embedded in institutional structures (Sugawara et al., 2023).

To address this challenge, the project designed a transnational training model aimed at supporting faculty members in integrating Service-Learning into their curricula through the use of Artificial Intelligence as a pedagogical support tool. The initiative included online preparatory sessions, collaborative exchanges among partner institutions, and an intensive in-person training programme hosted at University of Minho in May 2025.

During the training, participants explored institutional Service-Learning practices, worked with community-oriented sustainability challenges, and collaboratively designed AI-supported Service-Learning projects aligned with real societal needs and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The initiative aimed not only to support pedagogical innovation but also to create conditions for long-term institutional adoption of Service-Learning practices. Research has shown that service-learning can strengthen students’ civic engagement orientations, social justice awareness, and long-term democratic participation (Saavedra et al., 2022; Lin et al., 2025).

Our reflection focuses on three key dimensions of institutionalisation:

- Faculty development: equipping educators with practical tools, training, and confidence to integrate Service-Learning into teaching practices;

- Cross-institutional collaboration: leveraging European alliances to share resources, models, and strategies across diverse institutional contexts;

- Sustainability and scalability: moving beyond isolated pilot initiatives toward long-term institutional frameworks capable of embedding civic and democratic learning into university structures.

We also reflect on persistent challenges, including differences in institutional cultures, resource allocation, varying levels of recognition for civic-engaged teaching, and the ethical implications of integrating AI into socially engaged pedagogies. Emerging discussions on AI-supported service-learning further highlight both the opportunities and ethical complexities of integrating AI into community-based learning environments (Sass, 2025).

This contribution argues that European university alliances can function as important laboratories for institutional experimentation, enabling universities to collectively develop more sustainable models of Service-Learning that strengthen democratic culture, civic engagement, and social responsibility in higher education.

Service-learning is widely recognised as a pedagogical approach that can foster civic responsibility, democratic competences, and socially engaged learning (Bringle & Hatcher, 1996; Furco, 2010; European Commission, 2017). Yet its implementation often remains fragmented and dependent on individual academic initiative. Faculty members face challenges identifying partners, initiating collaboration, and navigating institutional procedures, while civil society organisations often lack clear entry points to universities, limiting opportunities for sustained engagement. As highlighted in research on universities’ “third mission” and civic engagement (Benneworth et al., 2018; Watson et al., 2011), these structural barriers hinder the institutionalisation of service-learning and constrain efforts to systematically link teaching, research, and engagement.

This contribution addresses Track B by reflecting on the development of the UNIC Centre for City Futures (CCF) as an institutional response to these challenges. The CCF, established across the UNIC European University Alliance functions as an intermediary “one-stop shop” that connects universities with urban stakeholders and supports co-creation of responses to societal challenges through teaching, research, and innovation. In doing so, it creates structural conditions for embedding service-learning and civic engagement more firmly within institutional practices.

Drawing on experiences from Ruhr-Universität Bochum and University College Cork, the presentation illustrates how such intermediary structures enable the institutionalisation of service-learning across different national and organisational contexts. The cases show how the CCF reduces access barriers for instructors and community partners, facilitates sustainable collaborations, and supports the integration of community-based learning into diverse disciplinary settings.

Empirically, the contribution is based on a reflective analysis of teaching formats developed in collaboration with the CCF. In these settings, students work with civil society organisations and municipal actors on real-world urban challenges, such as developing concepts for local initiatives or research addressing societal needs. These learning environments foster democratic competences by engaging students in collaborative problem-solving, negotiation of perspectives, and socially responsible knowledge production.

Conceptually, the CCF is framed as a boundary-spanning structure that mediates between academic and civic spheres (Boyer, 1996; Watson et al., 2011; Benneworth et al., 2018) and enables universities to operationalise their third mission. The transnational dimension of UNIC extends this approach into a European community of practice, creating opportunities for mutual learning and joint development of solutions across cities and institutions.

The contribution concludes by discussing opportunities and challenges of institutionalising service-learning through intermediary structures and outlines how such models support universities in strengthening democratic culture and civic engagement in a sustainable and scalable way.